PNP welcomes criminal charges vs police officers

MANILA, Philippines—The Philippine National Police said Wednesday that it welcomes President Benigno Aquino III’s approval of the criminal charges to be filed against several of its men and other military officers Wednesday in connection with the Atimonan incident in Quezon that led to the death of several men.

“As an investigator myself, the NBI findings is no longer a surprise, having personally observed glaring violations of the police operational procedures since Day One,” PNP chief, Director General Alan Purisima said following cases of multiple murder filed against 21 PNP officers, along with 14 other members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

Chief Superintendent James Melad and Superintendent Hansel Marantan are among those charged criminally.

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Marantan was the ground commander of the police team at a checkpoint along Maharlika Highway in Atimonan, where three police officers and 10 others were killed.

“Today, I would like to report that they are all accounted for,” Purisima said of the availability of all PNP personnel involved.

He said the findings of the National Bureau of Investigation complimented the result of PNP’s investigation on the matter that have earlier resulted to the recommendation for the filing of administrative charges against those allegedly involved.

“Let this incident then serve as a lesson for the men and women of the Philippine National Police to properly observe Police Operational Procedures in the performance of duty of serving and protecting the people.

“Over the years, the Philippine National Police has crafted enough guidelines to make sure that all its personnel perform their job the way a professional police officer is expected to do,” Purisima said.